


The Arrangement

by Dyce



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-06
Updated: 2007-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-29 06:56:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14467374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyce/pseuds/Dyce
Summary: More than six months in, the Transaction has become an Arrangement. but sooner or later someone IS going to find out.





	The Arrangement

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Firefly’s Glow](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Firefly%27s_Glow), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Firefly's Glow collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fireflysglow/profile).
> 
>  **Author's notes:** Smut. Lots of smut.

  
Author's notes: Smut. Lots of smut.   


* * *

The Arrangement

## The Arrangement

Disclaimer: The characters, sadly, are not mine. The Arrangement is, but I don't think Joss would want that anyway. I encourage anyone who enjoys fanfic to purchase and read/view/listen to/hump/eat the source material, as applicable. 

* * *

The Arrangement. That was how Jayne thought of it. When the constant sexin' of the three couples on board started getting to River, she would come to him and he'd see to her good and proper. Then when he got bored or horny - or both - she'd do the same for him. And that was all it was. Just sex, for one half-platinum a time. (Although on the two occasions when they'd actually _had_ more than three uninterrupted hours, neither of them had quibbled about running over time) Always the same half-platinum, at that, in the same bag. 

Not that it was a sentimental thing. It was more a protection _against_ sentiment. The money changed hands, and that meant it was Just Sex. River seemed as anxious to maintain that distinction as he was, which was a new and enjoyable experience for Jayne. Usually womenfolk got attached just as fast as they could. 

He sighed, looking down at his drink. Usually he'd be happy as a pig in a wallow right about now. He had time off on a planet populated by more than a few miners or farmers, some coin in his pocket and a half-dozen bars and brothels within drunken lurch of Serenity. Yep, around now he'd be getting a few drinks into him, maybe a quick fight for entertainment, then over the road and into a brothel to find himself a new friend. 

The Arrangement had killed a lot of the fun of time off, and that was a fact. It wasn't that River cared if he went to a whorehouse, although early on in the Arrangement she had made it clear that she'd be unhappy if he tired himself out too much to see to her as well. It was more that he just couldn't bring himself to waste good coin on mediocre sex with a world-weary whore when he had a bag in his bunk guaranteed him three solid hours with a lithe, sweet-smelling sex-maniac who could cross her ankles behind his head while they went for it, if she felt so inclined. 

Now that he thought on it, he hadn't been to a whorehouse for a good four months or more. He always went out, of course, when they were dirtside. If anyone ever found out about the Arrangement, Jayne would be going for a quick and chilly walk out the airlock without a suit, so it was important that nobody found out he'd suddenly lost interest in whoring. 

So here he was, hanging around in a bar, waiting for it to be late enough that he could sneak back on board Serenity. Late enough that everyone would be asleep or in their bunks or somewhere _away_ so he and River could find some privacy - in the store room or the shuttle or some other place with a door could lock - and have Just Sex until neither of them could walk in a straight line. 

She was really somethin', their crazy little pilot-in-training. Technically pure she might have been when they started up, but she'd done plenty of reading and she'd suggested a few things even Jayne had never thought of. (Like that ankle thing - it was a mite awkward and they didn't do it often, but it did things to the way they fit together that made him see stars.) 

"You lonely, handsome?" The line was pretty standard, and the whore was too. Attractive enough, but a little tired around the eyes. 

"Nope. Thanks anyway." He finished his drink and waved for another. 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah." 

"Jayne?" 

Jayne gritted his teeth. _Gorrammit_. "What, Mal?" Mal had somehow sneaked into Jayne's quiet little dive and seen him turn down a perfectly good whore. Well, that was going to take explaining. 

"Well, I just saw you turn down a lady of negotiable affection, so I thought I'd best run along and make sure you weren't dyin'." Mal sounded amused. Well, good for Mal. 

"Already got an appointment," Jayne said, shrugging and leering a bit because that was what Mal would expect. "Last job went pretty smooth, figured I'd get myself a pricey piece for a change." 

"That does explain it." Mal shook his head. "Don't get yourself rolled. Going to need you come morning - got a job lined up." 

"I'll be there." 

"And I don't want to see you hung over, either," Mal said, which Jayne figured was mostly 'cause he just wanted to be Captainy. "We're going out after bandits, and that can get a mite touchy. I want you alert." 

"Fine." Jayne nodded. "I'll head straight back... _after_ my appointment." 

"No details, please, no details. Just be there." 

Jayne smirked into his refilled glass as Mal walked away. An hour, an hour and a half maximum, and he'd have every reason to be back on the ship. 

* * *

"Timing is an issue." River said, feeling very sad about it. "To run the allotted three hours would result in a dangerous shortage of sleep before a day likely to involve at least one shoot-out." 

"Well, yeah." Jayne shrugged, grinning lecherously as his hands started to wander. "I get that. But we got at least an hour, and we can do a lot in that time... an' maybe you can owe me a little something extra for next time?" 

River whimpered happily as his hand slid inside her shirt to cup her breast. "Mm... yes, well... there is no harm in flexibility when circumstances truly do not permit." 

"I am all in favour of bein' flexible." Jayne nudged her back against the wall of the second shuttle - a suitably private and secure spot - and slid his hand under her bottom, lifting her until her legs could wrap around his hips and they could grind together. "Oh, yeah... been thinkin' on this for hours now." 

"Want," River murmured in complete agreement, sliding her hands up under his shirt and over his chest. 

"Want. Good word. Great word." Jayne growled, lowering his head to nip her ear. "You know what's another real good word?" 

River chuckled. She didn't have to be a Reader to know this one. "Naked? I consider naked to be an _excellent_ word." 

"Oh, yeah. I _like_ naked." Jayne grinned, stepping back and letting her slide to the floor. "And it's my turn, so I get to see some of what I like." 

The Arrangement was inherently equitable. Turn and turn about, and that was fair play. And Jayne's requests were usually fairly mild, always predictable, and generally very enjoyable. River grinned wickedly at him and pointed to the pilot's chair. "Then sit and watch." 

Jayne sat, grinning in obvious anticipation. "You even bother with underwear this time?" 

River stripped slowly for him, making a performance of it. She liked knowing that she aroused him, understood now why her desire always excited him in turn. She savoured the way his breath sped up when she peeled off her shirt, her back to him at first. She heard him swallow hard when she slid out of her pants. 

She hadn't bothered with underwear. What would have been the point? 

She walked over to him naked, and he watched her intently, gripping the arms of the chair almost hard enough to crack the plastic. He _wanted_ , and River gloried in it. "Lookin' good," he breathed, and then the chair creaked protestingly, his grip on the arms tightening when she slid gracefully to her knees before him. "Oh, _yeah_. You do know what I like." 

"The Arrangement is an exercise in mutual gratification," River said, unbuttoning his pants slowly. She liked making him wait just a little... not enough that he got annoyed and frustrated, but enough to make sure she had his complete and urgent attention. "I do not see why limited time should prevent us from attaining this goal." 

* * *

"I like the way you..." Jayne had meant to say 'think', but then soft hands had wrapped around him and he'd lost track of what his mouth was doing. But it was okay. He liked the way River did pretty much everything, at least when they were alone. 

He had to force his hands away from the arms of the chair when her mouth joined her hands. He'd ripped one of Vera's hooks right out of the wall the first time she did this, and if he broke the chair Mal'd want to know how it happened. " _Ta ma de_ ," he groaned, gritting his teeth. 

"Will in a minute," River murmured, little pink tongue flicking out and making his eyes cross as it trailed downward. "Busy now." 

"That y'are..." He sucked in a shaky breath, lowering a hand to smooth over her silky hair. River liked making him crazy for her, and he was of no mind to complain - his usual full-steam-ahead policy had died an unlamented death when he'd figured out just how good a slower build-up could make it. 

She licked and stroked and teased, dragging a whimper out of him before she finally lowered her head to wrap her mouth around him. Jayne shuddered, hand flexing on her hair but not pushing, because she knew what she was doing just fine without any hints from him. "Oh, fuck... yeah...." 

River hummed in response, damn near making him rupture something. When she made noise while she was doing _that_... He swallowed hard, looking down at her. Naked, kneeling before him as shameless as any whore but never knowing any hands but his, not _ever_... it was a sight to stir any man, even if she hadn't been sucking him just right while he watched her. 

She'd keep going until he came if he wanted her to. She often did, and he'd do the same for her next time if she wanted it, but they didn't have a whole lot of time and there were things he liked even more than this. "That's... ahh... that's 'nough of that," he managed, hitching back in the chair a little. "Come up here." 

She slid up him, catching the edge of his t-shirt in small hands and dragging it up over his head. Jayne helped her get it off, then pulled her into his arms. Skin on skin, they both liked that. Both liked _touching_ , smelling, tasting... "You want, River-girl?" he asked, sliding his hand down between her legs to see. 

Oh, yeah. She wanted, all right. He stroked her, teasing her the way she had him, until she cooed and squirmed against him. River made some real pretty noises when she was horny. "Mean," she breathed into his ear, licking his earlobe with that talented little tongue. "Likes to tease." 

"An' you don't?" He smirked, sliding a finger into her just to hear her moan. "This more like what you want?" 

"Like, but not close enough." River's hand slid down to wrap around him and tug gently. Jayne's eyes nearly crossed again. "That." 

"Yeah? What do you want me to do with that?" He liked making River talk, coaxing her to say all those things good girls didn't, and whores said but didn't mean. River meant _every_ word, and he never got tired of hearing it. 

She leaned in again and bit his earlobe gently. " _Ta ma de_ ," she whispered into his ear. 

"Any time." She was already kneeling astride him. All he had to do was wrap his hands around her hips, angle them a little, and pull her down onto him. Then he couldn't think at all for a second, except words like _hot_ and _wet_ and _fuck_... 

* * *

Like a key in a lock, like a knife in its sheath.... River arched as Jayne slid into her, fitting them together. Maybe it was her imagination, or maybe her perceptions were sliding west of reality again, but she was sure that every time they fit together more perfectly. 

His hands slid up her sides to spread across her back, pulling her to him, and River began rocking her hips as they pressed skin to skin. Touch, touch, always _touch_... it was like a drug to both of them, almost as important as the coupling itself. Skin on skin, touch and smell and taste... 

"Always so damn warm..." Jayne muttered, one broad hand sliding down her thigh. He ducked his head, nibbling gently on her ear and then groaning into it as she moved faster in response. "Oh, baby... just like that..." 

River rocked, and moaned as he slid inside her. "Yes... oh, yes...." 

Jayne's hands were roaming her body, and she recognized another of his games. He liked to hear her speak filthy words, he liked to make her beg for completion... and when she was astride him, he liked to tease her, to throw her off her rhythm. To make it last longer. To make her want him even more. 

River stayed steady when he licked the side of her neck, though it made her shiver. She ground down onto him when he squeezed her bottom, but the rocking of her hips remained constant. Pinching her nipple between calloused fingertips earned him his first momentary victory, making her whimper and arch and lose her pace for a moment. "Ohh, _bad_... delay..." 

"Nothin' wrong with... a little delay..." His hands belied his words, gripping her hips and pulling her into movement again. "An' you like it, you know you do..." 

"So do you." She ran the edge of her fingernail over his nipple, flicking it lightly, and he jumped and gasped. "Teasing, both of us..." 

"Just to make it better." Jayne wrapped a heavy arm around her waist, moving under her, making it faster again. "Oh, fuck.... ahh... we only got a little time, gotta make best use of it..." 

River leaned forward to lick the sensitive spot under his ear. "We always do." 

Jayne cursed, hands tightening on her, and she knew there would be no more teasing. When he could talk, then he would play... when all he could do was curse and groan and touch, he had gone too far to tease. 

They ground together, breath coming in harsh gasps and fingers clutching at sweat-slickened skin. "Please," River whimpered, and his hands slid down under her, grasping her bottom again and rocking her harder and faster than she could move herself while they were wedged in the chair. "Yes, that, _yes_..." 

"Yes," Jayne echoed, and his fingers would leave bruises but she didn't care, not when his head fell back and he dragged her down onto him as hard as he could and his hips bucked under her and his cries mingled with hers as thought stopped and ecstacy shattered them both. 

* * *

"Going to go south," River murmured. 

"When don't it?" Jayne slouched back against the side of the mule, casually sliding his hand closer to his gun. 

River sighed. "I live in hope." 

She leaned forward, and he watched the silky hair sliding over her shoulders with a twitch of desire. Last night had been good, but they hadn't had near long enough. If things didn't go too far south, maybe they'd be able to find some time tonight for another round. 

She must've caught the tail of that thought, because she tilted her head to grin wickedly at him. "So do you, it seems." 

"Always." Jayne dragged his eyes back where they belonged, to Mal and the contact. "So, who's gonna start it?" 

"Sniper." River pointed in the way they'd worked out, which involved standing on one leg and coiling the other one up under her in one of those ballet stances she liked. 

Anyone watching her hands wouldn't see anything, but she pointed with her toes and Jayne nodded, looking up under cover of tipping his head back. "Should we take him out first?" 

"Mal will whine. Must wait until treachery commences." River sighed. "You take the sniper. I will handle the one who is going to sneak up behind Zoe." 

Jayne did handle the sniper, and River took out the sneaker, and it all woulda been shiny if Mal hadn't stopped to talk halfway through the fight and let one of the hired goons get to his gun. He aimed it at River, correctly deducing that she was the fastest shot and thus the most dangerous, and without even thinking Jayne grabbed the back of her shirt to haul her bodily out of the way. 

The bullet, aimed at River's head, burned a trail of pain between Jayne's ribs high in his side. 

The time after that was a blur of pain and the dizziness of blood loss. He saw sky and silky brown hair above him, and then faces that went in and out of focus, then white lights and blue eyes that were cool and calm. Simon would fix it. Simon could fix anything. 

Much later, he woke up to bright bluish lights and the smell of antiseptic. And, lacing through the antiseptic, the faint sweet smell of River's hair. "How bad 'sit?" 

"Not very. Blood loss, and you will have to be careful for a while." River leaned over him, her loose hair brushing his arm. "No vigorous activity." 

" _Damn_ ," he said, with heartfelt emphasis. 

"I know. I was anticipating another exchange of platinum too." Cool fingers smoothed over his forehead. "But having my skull perforated would have ended our Arrangement much more permanently, so I am not very regretful of your actions." 

"Yeah. Ain't lettin' you get your head blown off when you still owe me at least an hour." 

"I have a vested interest in keeping you from permanent harm, also." River grinned impishly down at him. "I do not think Mal will hire a replacement with an eye to sexual skill, and he might find one who is sentimental and does not enjoy frequent and meaningless copulation." 

"Fine thing to be replacin' a man before he's even dead," Jayne grumbled, privately reassured. Having River here when he woke up had unsettled him some - what if she'd come over all sentimental? But she didn't seem to have. "And hurt on account of you, too." 

"Well, I will have to someday. Replace you, that is." She shrugged philosophically. "Until then, though, I like our Arrangment as it is." 

"Me too." Jayne sighed. "Even I gotta wait probably weeks 'fore we can make up that time we missed." 

"I am not pleased at that prospect." River leaned over, and for a panicked moment he was afraid she was going to start kissing on him when he was helpless to defend himself, but she just brushed warm lips lightly over his forehead. "But I will console you for your lost hour." 

"Yeah? How?" Would there be nudity? He couldn't do much right now, but some breasts would really take his mind off the whole getting shot thing. 

River smirked, and pushed his blanket to the side so it still covered his chest and feet, but not the middle of him. Then she unbuttoned his pants and bent down and took him on a whirlwind tour of heaven with her talented hands and gorram _gifted_ mouth. 

His eyes slammed shut as soon as she was done, and he was already sliding into sleep when she got him tucked into his pants and under his blanket again. He was just awake enough to hear her, though, when her soft hair brushed his cheek and her breath tickled his ear. "Thank you for saving my life, Jayne." 

* * *

Simon was used to not being able to find River. She was all right, now... or as close as she was ever going to be... but every now and then she just seemed to need to be alone. He'd assumed she withdrew from the crew now and then to get her thoughts in order in relative peace. 

But they'd had a letter from their mother, the first since they'd been exonerated and could contact family again, and River had refused to even look at it when they got it. He'd given her a day to calm down, now, and hoped she might be more receptive. So Simon sought River in all her usual hiding-places, and came up with nothing. He even tried Inara's shuttle, the crawlspace above the engine room, and the smuggling hole in the hold. When all those failed, he went to check her room again. Nothing... but he heard a faint noise from the last passenger berth at the end of the short hall. 

He followed it, and was about to open the door - his hand actually on it - when he heard River moan. He snatched his hand away, blushing. Oh. Well. Of course River was entitled to privacy at... at certain times. He would talk to her about the letter some other time. 

"Supposed to be keepin' quiet." 

Five words, in a voice that should never, ever be in a room with a moaning River. Simon's blood ran cold. 

"Trying..." River's voice had a note he'd never heard in it before - and shouldn't _ever_ have, being her brother and never wanting to hear her in... certain situations. "Can't be quiet when you do _that_... oh..." 

Jayne growled, and Simon had never wanted to hear _him_ sound like that, either. "You better try harder, then, 'cause I... ain't... stoppin'..." 

Simon fled. 

He should intercede, should drag the ape away from River... but it was bad enough having heard it. He did _not_ want to have to see as well. River, for some insane reason, sounded quite content with her current situation, and he wasn't needed to rescue her. 

So he waited. They had to come out sooner or later, didn't they? 

Over an hour later River emerged, looking very pleased... an expression which drained away when she saw Simon standing outside the infirmary door, his arms crossed. "Oh, _go se_!" she muttered, going pink. 

"What... _wo de ma!_ " Jayne entered the room behind her and - Simon was pleased to see - visibly paled. "Why the _hell_ didn't you warn me he was out here?" 

"I didn't know." River sounded sheepish. "I was distracted." 

" _Distracted_? With my life at stake?" 

"It's your fault. You were working very hard to ensure that I _was_ distracted." 

Jayne shifted awkwardly. "Well... yeah, I guess, but..." 

River sighed. "All right, Simon. Drag us before the Captain. Speak your indignation." 

Jayne flinched. "But - " 

"Is inevitable now that the discovery is made." River reached back to pat his arm. "Will not let anyone put you in the airlock." 

"Or shoot me." 

"Or shoot you." 

Simon finally managed to drag his voice back from where it had been hiding. "The galley. Right now." 

Jayne still seemed inclined to protest, but River sighed and went, towing Jayne by one arm. "There's no arguing with him when he's in this mood." 

Simon was glad she remembered that. 

* * *

"I want him _off_ this ship. At the next stop. Or before. Actually, I think I'd prefer before." Simon was pointing at Jayne and speaking in the quiet, grim voice that was Simon truly angry. When he shouted and ranted and fussed, things weren't so bad. When he put on the voice and face that had allowed him to pass for a dangerous officer of the Alliance's military, he was truly furious. 

Mal's eyebrows went up. "He tear up your infirmary again?" 

Everyone was there, and River reached over under the table to pat Jayne's knee reassuringly. She would protect him. This was all her doing, after all. 

"No." Simon gave Jayne a filthy look. "He was... carrying on with River. In the passenger dorms." 

The air in the room seemed to chill as suddenly everyone was angry. Except Kaylee, who never got angry if she could help it, and who would wait to find out the whole story first. And except, of course, for Jayne, who was more scared than he wanted to admit, but not in the least repentent. "He was _what_?" Zoe asked in her scary-quiet voice. 

River sighed. "You should know. You and Wash do it often enough." That startled everyone, and River smirked. That would teach them, with their obsessively copulatory habits. 

"River are you... ah... all right?" Inara was looking at Jayne as if she expected him to leap on River and begin ravishing her at any moment. (An activity River would not in the least object to.) 

"I'm not the one making a fuss." River frowned at Simon. "I am not a child anymore, Simon." 

"I know that." Simon's voice was still flat and angry. "And I don't know how exactly he convinced you to - " 

"I didn't convince her to do nothin'!" Jayne protested, and now he _was_ angry. "Why you gotta just assume this is all my fault?" 

"Surely you can't expect me to blame River for - " Simon's eyes narrowed. 

"Jayne is right," River said, raising her voice to drown Simon's out. "I was the one to initiate this." 

"You initiated a... a relationship with Jayne?" Mal stood up to lean on the table. "That what you're sayin', Albatross?" 

River blinked. "No." 

"Wait, didn't you just - " Wash looked confused. 

"I initiated _sex_ with Jayne. The two are not indivisible." 

"Oh, that's a _big_ help..." Jayne covered his face with his hand. "Why doncha just hand them the gun and let them shoot me now?" 

"You initiated... sex. With Jayne." Mal had the air of one who hadn't quite believed his own ears. "Without any... relationship, as such." 

"Yes." River folded her arms and glared at him. 

Wash spoke for all of them, when he spoke. " _Why_?" 

River looked at Jayne and shrugged. "Because he was there." 

"Because he was _there_?" Mal was obviously going to be repeating her words for a while. He didn't handle horrible surprises well. 

"I'm not exactly spoiled for choice on this boat." River looked pointedly around the room. "Wash is contentedly married, Simon is my brother, and I wouldn't take you as a gift after how you've treated Inara." 

Jayne snickered at that, and Mal's eyes narrowed. "And what's that supposed... never mind. Forget it. So you're knocking boots with Jayne because of, what, a lack of other options?" 

"Well, not only that. He is very good at it." River shrugged again. "And the situation was becoming dire." 

"Dire?" Wash got in ahead of Mal again. "River, I can appreciate that you may have been... uh... lonely, but..." 

"I am a psychic. A Reader." River rubbed her temple with her thumb, trying to remain calm. All the anger in the room made it difficult. "On a ship with six people who copulate _incessantly_. I was a bit more than rutting _lonely_." Anger crystallized into sudden, horrible embarrassment all around her, and she smirked. 

"Oh," Wash said weakly. 

Kaylee was blushing scarlet. "You... uh... know about that?" 

"I can't _not_ know. And you and Simon really should get more sleep." River leaned back in her chair, looking around the table. Only Zoe and Jayne could meet her eyes, Zoe because she would not, on principle, back down, and Jayne because he was highly amused. "I don't hear in _detail_ , as such, but I pick up the urge and the... feelings, in a vague way. All the time. With no relief for myself, having no partner and no means of acquiring one. It was horrible. It was endlessly frustrating. It was Jayne or axe-murder." 

"That would sound so much more hypothetical if she didn't have a skull-splitter axe in her bedroom," Wash said quietly, trying to make a joke of it but not entirely succeeding. 

"Exactly." River smiled thinly. "Simon, I know you do not approve. Please understand that there are three choices here. One, my arrangement with Jayne continues. Two, everyone on the ship ceases all forms of copulation permanently. Three, wait for me to snap and murder you all in your beds." 

"Simon, I'm telling you right now, option three is never going to happen," Wash said, though he went very pink when he looked at River. He and Zoe were married, after all - it wasn't as if everyone didn't know they had sex. River just knew it a bit more clearly. 

Simon frowned, still blushing a bit himself. "River... I appreciate that it's frustrating for you, but... Jayne?" 

"Has impressive stamina, solid if slightly unadventurous skill, and does _not_ desire any form of romantic involvement." River folded her arms. "He's perfect." 

"I ain't adventurous? Since when?" Jayne sounded offended. 

"Some of my suggestions appeared to startle you very much." 

"Well, yeah, but I _did_ 'em, didn't I?" 

"Please don't elaborate on that. Please." Wash's ears actually seemed to cringe closer to his head. 

"I have a question." Mal still looked a little stunned, but he seemed to have caught up with the conversation again. "How long has this been going on?" 

The question was directed at Jayne, who shrugged. "Uh.... I dunno. Six months?" 

River shook her head. "Closer to seven." 

"Seven _months_?" Kaylee got in first, this time, sounding shocked. "And you ain't... I dunno... closer?" 

Jayne and River, in perfect accord, shifted their chairs slightly away from each other. "No!" Jayne said very firmly. 

"Well, a bit," River amended. 

Jayne gave her a nervous look. "We are?" 

"I think we've established a higher level of trust than we had previously," River said seriously. "And a greater respect for each other's skills. No sentiment, of course, but I feel it's improved our working relationship overall." 

"Oh." Jayne considered that, found nothing frightening about it, and nodded. "Well, yeah, that's true. And we don't fight as much, neither." 

"But you don't... I dunno... care 'bout each other?" Kaylee was saddened by this. 

River shook her head. "Not the way you mean. But neither of us wishes to. No burden of responsibility, no fears or sentiment to cloud the judgement." 

"Yeah." Jayne nodded. "Just a friendly little Arrangement where everyone's gettin' something and anyone can walk away." He capitalized it in his mind, and thus in his words, though River wasn't sure anyone else noticed. 

"You mean you actually _want_ it to be this way?" Simon's face was creased with unhappy confusion. "No... affection, just the purely physical?" 

Jayne blinked. "That some kinda trick question?" 

Simon ignored him. "River?" 

"Yes, Simon, that is exactly what I want," River said firmly. "Romantic affection is... is confusing and painful and uplifting and frightening in its power and my life is already overfilled with those sensations." She found her lip trembling. The thought of losing her anchor of simple touch, of pleasure taken and given in generous measure without asking any part of her heart or mind, was very painful. "I cannot _cope_ with any more complications, Simon, I can't! The fires are all around and the walls waver but they..." She stopped, hearing herself slide into half-metaphorical gibberish, and tried to slow her breathing to its normal pace. 

"I understand," Inara said quietly, resting a soft hand on River's shoulder. "Your life is full of complications, a lot of them not even belonging to you because you can't shut ours out either. And this... with Jayne... it's very simple, isn't it?" 

River nodded, trying to force herself to speak clearly. Mostly she could, now. Mostly. But when she got upset... "Too much hurt to be had, if there was sentiment. Attachment." She looked at Jayne, and he nodded silently, agreeing with her even as he was unsettled by her distress. "You all hurt each other so much, even when you love. I don't want that. Don't want to love and be wounded by it. I couldn't bear it, and I don't want to go mad again." 

Wash's face was crumpled sympathetically. "I guess we can all understand that, River. And... since you started this 'arrangement', I guess you're okay with it, right?" 

She nodded. 

Wash turned to Jayne. "And you are too?" 

Jayne was very surprised to even be asked, but he nodded. "'s like she said. Gettin' attached is just painful and complicatin'. This way's easier all 'round." He grinned lecherously. "Fun, too." 

Simon made an angry noise, and River rolled her eyes. "Making sure any attempts to punish you for being vulnerable to my wiles are made in here with witnesses is sound strategy, but please don't tease Simon. He's having a difficult day." 

Jayne snorted. " _He's_ havin' a difficult day? He wasn't the one going out the airlock if this talk didn't go smooth." 

"I told you I wouldn't let anyone hurt you." River looked around the table pointedly. "And nobody's _going_ to. Are they? Because I am a grown woman and I may carry on emotionally meaningless assignations if I want to." 

"Of course nobody's going to hurt Jayne. It's not his fault if you... uh... don't want a relationship right now." Even sunny Kaylee couldn't muster much enthusiasm, but she gave Jayne a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring. "What you do in private ain't nobody's business, right?" 

Simon muttered a rude word and Mal was thinking them, but nobody said anything. It seemed a good time for a strategic retreat, perhaps combined with a pointed gesture to indicate her unwillingness to back down. So River stood, giving Jayne their private signal that it was time to seek out somewhere quiet to exchange some platinum. (Eyes locked for a moment then a hand brushed over the jaw as she looked away) He nodded, and got to his feet, smirking a little. 

She couldn't see him, as she led the way to his bunk and climbed down his ladder, but she could feel his nervousness rise, then vanish under rising desire and a smug satisfaction in riling Mal and Simon. They hadn't managed a full three hours in the spare dorm room, of course... her last spell of purchased time had been cut unexpectedly short by a collision with some debris, and Jayne had offered to make it up to her with a quick encounter at the time of her choosing. 

Technically, since it was his turn, she shouldn't have initiated it, but he didn't seem to mind. 

* * *

Jayne followed River into his bunk, his gut tight with a churning mix of nervousness (Mal was going to kill him), relief (River was going to kill Mal if he did), and lust (because, well, she was _there_ ). It was his turn, they weren't gonna get interrupted - or, at least, it wouldn't matter if they were - and River was - 

River was standing close, sliding one arm around his waist and pressing her face against his chest. Jayne stiffened a little, resting a hand cautiously on her back. He really hoped she wasn't going to take back all that she'd said earlier about not getting attached. It wasn't that he minded when she got snugglesome, it was just that it was usually afterwards, when he was kind of inclined that way himself. Starting out that way was different. 

"Don't be foolish. If I wanted to ensnare you into a romantic relationship, I would have made you buy the cow instead of getting the milk for one half-platinum a time," River murmured, her voice reassuringly chiding. "I just... want to not hear them. They're fussed and angry, and I don't like it." Her unoccupied hand was unbuttoning his fly, which Jayne thought was a real promising sign. "I like listening to you better." 

"Yeah? Didn't figure listening was what you liked about... ngh..." She had her hand wrapped around him, and the blood was rushing south fast enough to leave Jayne nothing left to think with. 

"You don't shout at me. Don't think I should be different," River murmured, her hand sliding up and down, making him groan and push forward helplessly. "Don't _think_. Not while we do this. No thinking. No pain. Just the pleasure and the touch..." 

Jayne nodded, managing to dredge up a little brain power to spare from thinking about how gorram good that soft little hand felt. "You always think too much anyway. Sexin' ain't no time to be thinking, you just gotta... ahhh... go with it." 

"Yes." River ran her thumb over his tip. "You make the thinking go away. It makes me feel good." 

"Feelin' good's kinda the point, yeah." Jayne let his own hands start wandering, one cupping her backside and the other pushing down inside her shirt to run calloused fingers over her velvety nipple. It hardened under his touch and he groaned, pushing more eagerly into her hand. "It's my turn, y'know." 

"I know." She lifted her head to grin wickedly up at him. "I am merely working for my sale." 

"You'd make a killin', you ever went into business with someone 'sides me." Jayne shrugged that idea aside, finding that it itched at him somehow. "Okay... ngh... bag's on the shelf. All yours." Her hand tightened on him and he groaned. "Now get your ruttin' clothes off 'fore I tear 'em off!" 

She had to let go of him to do that, but it was a sacrifice Jayne was willing to make. They both stripped as fast as they could - River getting there first because her feet were bare - and then Jayne filled his hands with soft, warm girlflesh, pulling her against him again so he could press against her stomach. The smell of her hair filled his nose as she cooed and squirmed against him, hands roaming just as eagerly as his were. 

Jayne had heard the term 'a feast for the senses' once, and it hadn't made much sense to him at the time. Your nose and ears couldn't eat, after all. But River... River made it make sense. If ever there was a feast for _his_ senses, at least, it was her. He eased her down on his bed, the better to enjoy it. 

Smell. She smelled _good_... not fake and perfumey, like Inara, but like warm skin and clean hair and a faint hint of flowers. He was getting so he couldn't smell her without coming to attention, so to speak, 'cause it was just so damn good. He inhaled her now, kneeling beside the bed and dropping his face to the warm skin between her breasts. 

Taste. She tasted good, and Jayne figured he'd tasted just about every inch of her. Not her mouth, 'cause he didn't kiss on the mouth and she'd never tried it either, but from neck to toes he'd explored her thoroughly. He licked her nipple and she whimpered, arching up as he took it into his mouth to tease properly. 

Sound. She wasn't a quiet one, even when she was trying. She had a vocabulary of getting-sexed noises almost as big as her one of words, and Jayne kept finding new ones. Everything from growls to purrs to squeaks to coos, and he got a little thrill out of every one 'cause it was so damn _real_... River had never learned to fake a response, and every sigh and moan he wrung out of her was real. She was whimpering and sighing as he toyed with her nipple, and he slid a hand slowly down her stomach to ease in between her legs. 

Sight. All that smooth flawless skin laid over delicate bone and firm muscle. She was slighter than the women he usually went for, almost too delicate for him, but the first time he'd gotten a good look at her bare, and seen muscle flex under that soft skin and felt the firmness of those slight curves, he'd been hooked. He liked strength in a woman. He looked down at her now, squirming as he slid his fingers over the soft skin of her inner thigh, not quite moving his hand to where he knew she wanted it, and felt his John Thomas actually twitch. She looked so damned good. 

River's eyes were half-closed and her breath coming in little pants as she looked up at him. "Touch," she moaned, and he wasn't sure if she was completing his thought or just focusing on what she needed most right now. "Touch, please..." 

"Yeah." He brushed his fingertips lightly across her, and swallowed hard. Oh, she was ready to go. It never took either of them long. "Up." 

* * *

River sat up, ready to protest this base denial of her needs until she saw his face. Oh. Right away, then. 

Good. 

Jayne guided her onto hands and knees, and she eased her legs further apart as he knelt behind her. They'd tried every position either of them could think of, including two involving the ladder, but this was definitely a favourite... 

Then he was easing into her and thought went away. He was the only one who could make it all _stop_ , fill her world with the pleasure of the senses and drown out everything else. River moaned, pushing back against him, and his arm looped around her hips and held her secure as he started to thrust. 

"Yes..." She heard his hoarse whisper even as she voiced her own. Yes, this, yes, now, passions rising and meeting deep within her... a world of yes, a _universe_ of yes... 

He moved faster, and she tilted her hips up to meet him. "Oh, fuck," he gasped, his breath warm on the back of her neck as he leaned forward. One hand supported his weight, the other moved up from her hips to palm her breast almost roughly. 

"Fuck..." River echoed him and his hand tightened on her. He loved to hear her say those things. "A good word... ahh... wonderful word, _love_ that word..." 

"Me... too..." He was struggling to speak, and he burrowed his face into her neck, licking skin bared as her hair slid forward. "Oh, God..." 

"Please..." River's fists were clenched, clutching at the blanket, as she pushed back to meet his thrusts. "Want, _want_..." He stripped her words from her, left her with only pleas and profanity. 

He kneaded her breast, grinding into her until she whimpered. "Want," he agreed, and bit the soft skin of her neck lightly. She cried out, and he licked the spot soothingly... then sucked on it, hard enough to mark her. He had never dared before, but now his right to her had been challenged. 

She couldn't talk any more, her pleas coming out in wordless moans and wails. But he heard and understood, his thrusts coming harder and faster until he reached the point of no return. "Can't," he groaned against her neck. "Oh, God, can't... fuck..." 

River shrieked as his hands clutched her tightly, his breath hot on her neck as he shuddered and thrust _hard_ and dragged her down with him into ecstacy. 

A long time later, they lay tangled together on the bed, River listening to his heart slow from its frantic racing. "Wasn't entirely truthful," she murmured, the hair on his chest tickling her lips as she spoke. 

"'bout what?" Jayne would have been purring, if he were capable of it. His natural tendency to permanent anger at the entire universe went away completely after prolonged and enthusiastic sex. 

"About the Arrangement." She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at him seriously. "They would not understand, but we _are_ closer. Not in the romantic sense, of course, but... there is trust, where there was none before, and more than either of us has for anyone else." 

Jayne nodded, absently twining his fingers through her hair. "Nobody I'd rather have watchin' my back, an' that's the truth," he agreed sleepily. 

"Nor I to have watching mine." She smiled down at him. "And I like you. Not in the romantic sense, of course, but it's nice to have you around. I'd be sad if you went away." 

Jayne was too content for his normal wariness to intrude, and he returned her smile. "Ah, hell, I'd miss you too. And not just for the sex, neither. It's nice havin' someone around I don't gotta watch in case they turn on me." 

"Exactly." River nodded, pleased that he understood. "We are comfortable with each other, clothed or not. It is much more valuable than mere sentimental urgings." 

"Yeah." Jayne yawned. "Comfortable. That's 'zactly it." He couldn't articulate it, she knew that, but he liked having her around. Liked the sex, of course, but also liked knowing he had someone he could turn his back on with complete confidence. It was as reassuring for him as it was for her. 

River wasn't sure, not having extensive familiarity with the phenomenon, but she thought they might have become friends. 

Reluctantly, she squirmed away. Their time was up, and sleeping together came too close to more romantic involvement. Besides, there wasn't much room on the narrow bed. "Time to go." 

"'kay." He untangled his limbs from hers, letting her slide off the bed. "Don't forget th' bag." 

She pulled on her clothes - giggling when Jayne swatted her bottom as it passed him - and dropped the bag into her pocket. "I never do. If I did, I would not be able to give it to you and have _my_ way next time." 

Jayne grinned lecherously, even half-asleep as he was. "That'd be a damned shame. You got some fun ideas." 

She pulled the blanket up over him. "I do indeed. Sleep well, my source of meaningless but wonderful sex." 

He chuckled, eyes closing. "Gonna sleep for a _week_. You damn near killed me." 

"Didn't hear you complaining before." 

"Wasn't _complainin'_." He rolled onto his side. "G'night, River." 

"Goodnight, Jayne." 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:   **The Arrangement**   
Author:   **Dyce**   
Details:   **Standalone**  |  **NC-17**  |  **het**  |  **41k**  |  **04/06/07**   
Characters:  Jayne, River   
Pairings:  River/Jayne   
Summary:  More than six months in, the Transaction has become an Arrangement. but sooner or later someone IS going to find out.   
Notes:  Smut. Lots of smut.   
Sequel to:  A Simple Transaction   
  



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